I served as an expert respondent on the pro bono scenarios for the future of civil protection in Germany created by the team at CapGemini Invent.
German speakers (or those of you possessed of a decent machine translation option) can read more about the Katastrophenschutz 2035 scenarios here.
I just caught up with Maria Schrader’s excellent new movie I’m Your Man (Ich bin dein Mensch), which came out in the UK last month.
Archaeological researcher Alma (Maren Eggert) is cajoled by her boss into serving as a participant in a scientific trial. Using interviews, studies, and brain-scans, a team of designers will create a lifelike robot intended to be her perfect companion. The result is Tom (Dan Stevens), an English-accented android programmed to meet her every emotional and physical need. Tom will live with Alma for three weeks, at the end of which she’ll write a report informing the decision on whether androids like him are allowed out into German society.
How far ahead do you plan your professional development? German-speaking librarians and information professionals interested in foresight, strategy, and leadership can join me and my fellow consultant Andreas Mittrowann for a special one-day workshop in Bremen on 9th March 2020.
Andreas and I will be exploring questions of design, planning, and innovation in this special event incorporating the “Library Island” game.
You can read more about the Bremen event at Andreas’ blog and sign up to join us via the workshop’s Eventbrite page.
The first 2019 issue of German library and information magazine b.i.t. online has a special feature on Library Island, the playful professional development activity which helps institutions to think strategically about serving their community in turbulent times.
German speakers, and people with a mastery of machine translation, can read “Auf Trauminseln das strategische Bewusstsein schĂ€rfen” (PDF download) at the b.i.t. website.
You can also find out more about Library Island in this blog post.
I’ll be at next month’s Bibliothekskongress in Leipzig, a gathering of German-speaking librarians and information professionals. If you’re attending, come say hello and talk Library Island – or catch me online.
Ăndern sich Bibliotheken zu schnell oder nicht schnell genug?
Was bieten wir einer Welt, die sich schnell und radikal zu verÀndern scheint?
Wie sieht gute FĂŒhrung in der Bibliothek des 21. Jahrhunderts aus?
Wie können wir fĂŒr Zeiten der VerĂ€nderung planen?
Um antworten zu finden, besuchen Sie Library Island.
Library Island simuliert fĂŒnf Jahre im Leben von Bibliotheken in einem kleinen Land. Die Spieler ĂŒbernehmen die Rolle von Bibliothekaren, Regierungs- und Gemeindemitgliedern.
Die Spieler verhandeln politische Konflikte und soziale Herausforderungen (oder sogar Naturkatastrophen!) und passen das Spiel dann an ihre eigenen lokalen Probleme.
Es ist ein einfaches Spiel, das nur mit Papier und Stiften gespielt wird, aber es ermöglicht den Spielern, komplexe Szenarien und unbequeme Themen zu besprechen.
Ich habe Library Island entwickelt, um Organisationen zu unterstĂŒtzen, ihre Vision und Mission fĂŒr die Zukunft zu definieren und umzusetzen. Library Island schafft Raum fĂŒr die Erkundung einer ungewissen oder schwierigen Zukunft und hilft Mitarbeitern, FĂŒhrungskrĂ€ften und TrĂ€gern einen strategischen Standpunkt zu entwickeln.
Man kann Library Island als eigenstĂ€ndigen Workshop oder als Teil eines umfassenderen strategischen Prozesses nutzen. Es ist spielerisch, belebend, zum Nachdenken anregend und macht sogar SpaĂ!
Pop stars at the fall of Communism. A man who builds imaginary tools to solve problems that never were. A mining engineer who made a ten-tonne truck disappear through a metre-wide tunnel.
Approaching the end of the year and the final instalments of Marvellous, Electrical, we’re joined by two humble figures with secret artistic careers.
Andy MacDonald, factory supervisor at Queensland’s Cobb + Co Museum, recounts a life spanning mining, sculpture, stage design, and jet fighter maintenance in Part 1 of The Fitter And The Handyman.
Then Alf Klimek, doing odd jobs and broadband installation in Melbourne, reveals an unexpected career as a Berlin-based Cold War pop star.
You can also see two years’ back catalogue of Marvellous, Electrical over at the newsletter’s Google Maps page. Distant lands are not so far away…
matt finch / mechanical dolphin 